


it's a stark thing

by stxrks



Category: A Song of Ice and Fire & Related Fandoms
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/F, F/M, Family Fluff, Fluff, M/M, it's just cute stark bonding and my fave ships aka my way of coping with season eight
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-26
Updated: 2019-05-26
Packaged: 2020-03-17 14:47:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,178
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18967414
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stxrks/pseuds/stxrks
Summary: Arya's just back from her honeymoon, and missing on a full month of Stark family gossip. Robb is more than happy to divulge.





	it's a stark thing

**Author's Note:**

> it's 3 a.m, this is unbeta'd and comme j'ai dit, my way of handling s8/the lack of twow release date

Robb greets her with a can of beer and a bone crushing hug. 

 

Ayra grins into the hug, happily accepts the beer and nudges Grey Wind over slightly so she can crash on her brother’s couch. 

 

“So,” he says, “how was travelling the world?”

 

She shrugs and feigns indifference. “Fine,” she says. “I mean, I’ve done it all before.”

 

“Mmhmm,” he says, grinning. “And how’s travelling with your husband?”

 

This time Arya couldn’t feign disinterest if her life depended on it, and can’t help the grin that breaks out at the word. _Husband_. It still doesn’t feel real.

 

“Amazing,” she admits. “Once Gendry got over his fear of flights, we were on a roll. “Everywhere from Braavos to Yin, and a weekend in Naath We even managed to fit in the north of Sothoryous. I couldn’t have asked for more.”

 

“I still can’t believe you guys covered so much in a month’s worth of honeymoon,” he says, shaking his head. “Our honeymoon was just sex all day and gambling all night.”

 

“Yes,” Arya says patiently, “because you got drunk and got married in the Summer Islands, Robb. And you guys couldn’t afford to cancel your pre-booked flights because your new husband Theon had already gambled away most of his savings. Ergo your honeymoon consisted of even more gambling and sex that I really don’t want to visualize.”

 

Robb laughs at that. “It was worth it for the tax breaks,” he says. 

 

“And the happy marriage?” she asks tentatively as she finishes her beer.

 

“And the happy marriage,” he confirms, throwing her a second can that she deftly catches. For all his joking, Robb isn’t an idiot, and he evidently notices the catch in her voice.

 

“Arya,” he says, his tone more serious. “Marriage is the best thing that’s ever happened to me. And it’s going to be just as amazing for you. Probably off to a better start than mine, if truth be told, since you were both fully sober when taking your vows.” She laughs at that before he continues. “And you picked the right man for it. He survived enough of our shovel talks for that to be certain.”

 

She groans. “Don’t remind me. I’ll never get over Rickon threatening him with the fork. I’d never seen a grown man so afraid of a ten year old boy.” She sighs fondly at the memory. “Where’s your man anyway? With the kids?”

 

“They’re visiting Asha,” Robb says. “Her new girlfriend is some kind of Essosi superstar who also happens to breed lizards as a hobby. She claims they’re small and perfectly safe, but if there’s one thing the kids have taught me, it’s that small creatures can be the deadliest of all.”

 

Arya laughs. “A lizard got into Gendry’s shirt in Astapor. He only got a little bite and the photos were hilarious.”

 

Robb pulls a face. “Great. I’ll just hope my husband gets some funny pictures if our kids are attacked by some wild reptile.”

 

“Stop worrying,” she says. “The triplets are made of tougher stuff than Gendry.”

 

“How is he now anyway?” Robb asks. “Has he reached post honeymoon depression yet?”

 

“He’s good,” Arya says, smiling. “Hot Pie and Lommy immediately ambushed us when we got home and demanded his company for pints.”

 

Robb frowns. “Just back from the airport and already ditching you for pints with the boys? That’s not like Gendry.”

 

“It’s not,” she agrees. “He begged me to come but I’m far too jet lagged to put up with Hot Pie and Lommy. I’d much rather hang out with you guys and Grey Wind.”

 

“Right,” says Robb. “It’s nothing to do with the fact that pint prices have gone up a mile and I let you drink through all the beer in my fridge for free?”

 

“Only partially,” she says innocently. “It’s also because I’m missing out on a whole month of Stark gossip and I need to catch up. Have I missed much?”

 

Robb ponders. “Let’s see. Rickon’s developed a penchant for hijacking cars. He’s pretty good at it. He’s not as good at driving, and he’s currently grounded for the foreseeable future for ending up in the lake with Uncle Edmure’s Audi.”

 

Arya chuckles. “I’m assuming the grounding was on Mum’s behalf?”

 

“Absolutely,” Robb confirms. “Edmure found the whole thing pretty funny once the insurance claim was accepted.”

 

“And the rest?” Arya prompts.

 

“Jon’s acting weird.”

 

Arya snorts. “Jon is weird.”

 

“Weirder than usual,” Robb counters. “We’ll find out what it is sooner or later.”

 

“And how are Ygritte and the boys?”

 

“Giving Jon a run for his weirdness, as usual,” Robb says fondly. “Their new thing is collecting slugs from the backyard and distributing them around the house. Jon found one in his tea mug last week.” 

 

“And Sansa? Is her boss still the mega bitch from hell?”

 

Robb beams. “She quit,” he says. “Didn’t even hand in her notice, just told Cersei to go fuck herself and walk out.”   
  


Arya whistles. “Go Sansa. I’m sure that went down with the Lannisters.”

 

Robb shrugs. “Better than you think. Jaime’s been completely disenfranchised from the family since he moved in with Brienne, he’s got no loyalty to Cersei anymore. And you know Tyrion, he’s always just wanted to see his family burn. Sansa picked the right Lannisters to befriend before she marched out like that.”

 

“Won’t she have trouble finding a new position?” Arya asks. “Cersei’s a bitch but she has connections.”

 

“Not at all,” Robb says. “Sansa was picked up by Margaery Tyrell almost immediately after leaving Cersei. Apparently the Tyrells have been dying to get their hands on her.”

 

“Margaery Tyrell?” Arya says. “Her old friend from college? The one who just moved back here from Essos?”

 

“That’s the one,” Robb confirms. “She’s doing pretty well for herself. Making more money and reaching further audiences than Cersei according to Sansa. Also, as far as having model-esque brothers go, Loras is far hotter than Jaime but don’t let Theon hear me say that.”

 

“Hear me say what?” Theon’s voice calls over from the hallway, the jabber of the kids and the thundering of their feet nearly drowning out his voice. Arya is immediately ambushed by three identical squeals of  _ Auntie Arya  _ and three bone crushing hugs that the triplets obviously inherited from Robb.

 

“That Loras Tyrell is hotter than Jaime Lannister,” Robb replies to his husband, who shakes his head.

 

“You disgust me sometimes,” Theon says, but still accepts the kiss his husband plants on his cheek between laughter. “Good to see you Arya. How was the honeymoon?”

 

“Amazing,” Arya tells him, when she finally matches to settle the triplets in such a manner so that she can breathe again. “I’m on your side, by the way. Jaime over Loras anyday.”

 

Robb shakes his head. “Betrayal from my whole family, I see.” He grins at his kids. “How come Auntie Arya gets a hug and I don’t?”

 

“Because we saw you in the morning,” Alannys tells her father patiently from where she’s balanced on Arya’s knee. “But we haven’t seen Auntie Arya in a gazillion years.”

 

Arya grins at her niece’s words. She loves four year olds’ grasps of the concept of time.  

 

“Dad,” Ben says suddenly, “Papa says we can get a lizard for ourselves.”

 

Robb frowns at Theon. “I don’t think Papa was being serious.”

 

Will scowls. “Well I’m gonna ask Dany for one of hers. She’s got a million of them, she won’t mind giving us one.”

 

“The lizards might get scared of Grey Wind,” Arya points out. “It mightn’t be safe for them here.” Neither of her nephews have an argument against that, and resort to sulking and muttering amongst themselves while Alannys seems to be nodding off.”

 

“They need a nap,” Theon advises Robb. “They were running around for ages at Asha’s, they’re exhausted.”

 

“We not tired,” Will and Ben protest in unison, their protests softed slightly by their yawns. Alannys is fully asleep now, snorting gently against Arya. 

 

Theon takes Alannys off Arya and gently carries her to her room. It doesn’t take too much hassle to get the boys to go to their own beds, both still sleepily muttering about lizards along the way.

 

“Did they go out?” Robb asks Theon when he reemerges. 

 

“Like a light,” Theon replies. “You know Robb, maybe the lizards aren’t such a bad idea if they make naptime this easy.”

 

Robb sighs. “I can’t believe I’m a single father of four kids,” he says drily, but still allows his smirking husband to nestle beside him on the couch. He grins at Arya. “I didn’t tell you about Bran yet, did I?”

 

“No,” Arya says. “What about him? How’s college life treating him?”

 

“He’s top of the class,” Robb says. “But we all expected that. He’s got a boyfriend though. I think that took Mum by surprise.”

 

“A boyfriend?” Arya repeats. “I didn’t see that one coming. Good for him though. What’s he like? The boyfriend?”

 

“Nice guy,” Robb says. “His name’s Jojen. He smokes a bit but he’s a college kid so I can’t hold that against him. He makes Bran happy too.”

 

“Good,” Arya says fervently. People who treat her siblings badly don’t tend to fare well. Joffrey Baratheon’s broken jaw that never fully healed would attest to such. “How’s Mum dealing with it?”

 

“She’s fine,” Robb says. “Probably glad it wasn’t another impromptu Summer Islands wedding. Besides, I already told her, everyone goes through a gay phase in college.”

 

Arya rolls her eyes. “No they don’t.”

 

“They do,” Theon argues. “We both did.” 

 

Arya rolls her eyes even further this time. “That wasn’t a phase, Theon,” she says. “You guys have been married for seven years and have three children.”

 

Theon shrugs. “I see your point.”

 

Robb’s phone buzzes and he scans through the message quickly. “Jon and Ygritte are on their way over, they say they have something to tell us. We’ll get their input.”

 

When Jon and Ygritte arrive, the pair are drenched to the skin, and both hug Arya despite her protests. “What happened?” she asks.

 

“The boys had a playdate with Sam,” Jon tells her as he peels off his soaking jacket and throws it over the heater. “We dropped them off and accidentally got caught up in a water fight. Sam and Gilly let us dry off inside but Lee and Rod were waiting to soak us again the second we stepped outside.” He looks around. “Where are your three?”

 

“Fast asleep,” Robb replies. 

 

Jon sighs in relief. “Thank the gods.”

 

Ygritte snorts. “You’re sure it’s good news that we have then?”

 

Jon grins ruefully. “You want to tell them?”

 

Ygritte beams. “I’m pregnant.”

 

Robb and Theon break into congratulations, and Arya hugs her sister-in-law, deciding she can’t get anymore soaked than she already is. “Another boy?” she asks.

 

“I reckon so,” Ygritte replies.

 

“Please not,” Jon mutters, and Ygritte nudges him. “If it’s a girl, it’ll be ten times harder. You don’t want to know what I was like as a wain.”

 

“Adorable I’m sure,” he replies, kissing her forehead before turning to Arya. “How’s Gendry doing?”

 

“Still alive,” she tells him. “He was heartbroken to be away from the love of his life for a whole month, but it’ll be all worth it when he sees you again.” Jon grins at that while Ygritte laughs. Jon and Gendry’s friendship is a long running joke between them all at this stage. The two are one drunken lads’ night away from their own drunken eloping in the Summer Islands. 

 

“Speaking of,” Robb says, “settle a debate between Arya and myself. Most people go through a gay phase in college, right?”

 

“No,” Jon replies a bit too quickly. He’s easily one of the worst liars Arya’s ever met. She gapes at him. 

 

“Jon?”

 

Ygritte shrugs. “It’s not a big deal, Jon.”

 

Jon sighs and buries his face in his hands. “You said it didn’t count as gay if it was a - ” He trails off, unable to finish.

 

Theon chortles. “No way. You guys did not. Was it Satin? I always thought there was something going on there.”

 

“No,” Jon replies, not looking at any of them.

 

“Sam?” Robb asks uncertainly.

 

“Not Sam,” Jon mutters.

 

“Edd?” Arya ventures. Jon shakes his head.

 

“Who was it then?” Robb asks.

 

Jon sighs and replies so quietly, they almost miss it.

 

“Tormund.”

 

The silence lasts for two whole seconds before all three of them begin talking over each other.

 

“Tormund!?”

 

“How many times? Were these threesomes a regular thing or - “

 

“ _Tormund!?_ ”

 

“I knew it, I always called you were a little bit gay, it was the hair, no straight man had hair like yours in college - “

 

“ _TORMUND!?_ ”

 

“Alright, alright,” Jon says. “It was a semi regular thing, Arya. And yes, Robb, it was Tormund.” He scowls at Theon. “And for the record, my hairstyle back then was in style.”

 

Ygritte sighs. “Keep telling yourself that, babe.”

 

“See,” Robb says triumphantly to Arya. “That proves my point. Everyone goes through a gay phase in college.”

 

“No,” Arya says. “Jon sometimes got fucked by Tormund. That proves Jon went through a gay phase in college. It doesn’t prove it’s a regular thing.”

 

Jon looks offended. “How come you’re assuming I was the one getting fucked?”

 

“Jon,” Arya says with a sigh. “I’m not assuming. I just know. But we’re not having this conversation. But like I said. Doesn’t prove anything. Ygritte and I didn’t have a phase, right Ygritte?”

 

Ygritte thinks to herself. “I kissed Val a couple o’ times,” she says. “But that was it.”

 

“See,” Arya says. “Point proven.”

 

“Not a chance,” Robb says. “I’m ringing the queen of arguments herself. She’ll help me win this..

 

Arya’s eyes widen. “You wouldn’t.”

 

“I would,” Robb says. “She owes me this from last year when I beat her in that drinking competition at Gendry’s birthday.”

 

“The one where you watered down all your shots?” Theon teases.

 

“There’s no way to prove that,” Robb says quickly as he hits dial.

 

The phone dial rings into the silence of the room for a few seconds before an agitated voice answers.

 

“Robb, I’m at work. This better be good.”

 

“It is,” Robb promises. “Arya’s here by the way.”

Sansa’s annoyance momentarily fades from her tone. “Hi Arya. How was the honeymoon?”

 

“Incredible,” says Arya. I’ll fill you in on the specifics next time you, ‘Gritte and me have a girls’ night.” Ygritte high fives her.

 

“Can’t wait,” Sansa says, and immediately switches back to the voice she used when they were teenagers, and their parents had left Sansa in charge for a weekend. “What is it Robb?”

 

“Remember Gendry’s birthday last year?”

 

“How could I forget?” Sansa says drily. “He tried to propose to Arya but was so drunk he accidentally proposed to Jon.”

 

“He got to me in the end,” Arya protests, tapping her wedding ring.

 

“Wasn’t an accident,” Jon says with a smirk.  

 

“Right,” says Robb. “Moving on from Jon and Gendry’s epic bromance, do you remember our little deal?”

 

Sansa falls silent.

 

“I’ll remind you,” Robb says earnestly. “You said if I could handle more shots than you, you’d owe me an argument. Any argument I got into, you’d come over and help me win. A one time offer.” He pauses. “And I distinctly remember you getting sick over what was left of the cake Hot Pie had to carefully baked for Gendry. So, I’m cashing in. I’m at my place with Arya, and I want our argument won.”

 

Sansa groans. “Robb, I’m working late today. Can’t it wait until - ”

 

“Sansa, sweetheart?” a voice interrupts from Sansa’s end of the line. “Do you need to leave?”

 

Sansa’s evidently covering her phone, as the conversation becomes slightly muffled, but still easily followed.

 

“No, not at all Margaery, it’s fine. Just my family and - ”

 

“Sansa, darling, it’s alright,” Margaery replies with a laugh. “You’re my best employee, you can come and go as you please darling.” There’s almost a purr in her tone. “And you’ve worked so well. I insist you take the rest of the day off. I’ll see you later, hm? At the -”

 

“Yes,” Sansa says hurriedly. “I - I’ll be there.”

 

“Perfect,” Margaery says. “I’ll see you then, love.”

The clipping of heels indicates her leaving, and Sansa’s voice speaks directly into the phone.

 

“I’ll be there in twenty.”

 

The line goes dead and immediately the gossiping begins.

 

“Margaery seems nice,” Robb says. “She’s built up a reputation as some kind of ruthless businesswoman but she seems to like Sansa.”

 

Arya grins. “She’s an upgrade from Cersei Lannister, that’s for sure.”

 

“That’s a pretty low bar,” Jon says with a snort. “The slug I found in the washing machine this morning is an upgrade from Cersei Lannister.”

 

Ygritte beams. “In the washing machine? The boys are so creative.”

 

The talk immeditaley turns to kids, Arya’s brothers and their respective partners caught up in exchanging whatever exploits their offsprings have recently gotten into. Arya twists her wedding ring and can’t help but think about her and Gendry in a parenting role. They’ve talked about it, of course they have, and eventually reached the shared conclusion that they want one or two, but back then it was only a fantasy of the future. It seems a lot realer this side of the honeymoon.

 

Jon nudges her, having obviously noticed her being lost in her own thoughts. Ygritte is entertaining Robb and Theon with a story about Lee’s recent foray into horseback riding, and Jon’s voice is low enough not to be heard.

 

“You okay?” he asks quietly.

 

“Yeah,” she says, forcing herself to nod. “I’m fine. It’s just - ” she breaks off, then hesitantly continues. “We want kids. Both of us do. I just don’t know if I’m fully ready. I don’t know if I’ll ever be.”

 

“You won’t be,” Jon tells her. “Nobody ever really is fully ready. The best you can do is be as ready as you can be. And you will be, Arya, I know you will.”

 

Arya grins and tries to blink back the stupid tears that are threatening to make an appearance. “Thanks Jon.”

 

On impulse she decides open her phone and send a quick text.

 

Sent 18:42 _Stark gathering seems to be happening. Robb’s house. Can u make it?_

 

Received 18:43 _hot pie had 2 carry lommy home. B there in 5._

 

It’s only been an hour since she last saw him, but Arya’s grateful to see her husband when he appears in the room, smiling at her like it’s their wedding day all over again. Her family is similarly pleased to see him, the hug Jon gives him definitely venturing into romantic territory, only encouraged by Ygritte’s wolf whistles.

 

“You know what?” Robb says to Theon. “I’m seriously beginning to warm to the idea of those lizards. I’ve never known the kids to sleep this well with so much noise out here.”

 

Gendry looks mildly alarmed at the mention of lizards before multiple people reassure him that there are none within the general vicinity. He sighs. “You told people about the Astapor incident then?” he asks Arya

 

“Absolutely,” she reassures him with a wicked grin. “Expect the pictures all over social media sometime tonight.”

 

He shakes his head as he sits down between her and Jon. “Nightmare. Absolute nightmare.”

 

Arya grins. It’s insane how happy he makes her.

 

The approaching footsteps and sound of the door opening jolt her back to reality, and she waves to her older sister. Sansa looks good. The bags under her eyes and general aura of stress that were part of her while she worked under Cersei Lannister are long since gone. She’s a lot more vibrant and alive than the last time Arya saw her. 

 

“Sansa,” Robb says immediately. “Everyone goes through a gay phase in college, right?”

 

Sansa pales. “How - who - who told you? Was it Joffrey?” She curses. “How did he find out? I thought I saw him sneaking about the place, he is stupid enough to violate the restraining order like that. Or was it Baelish? That dick loves poking his nose where it’s not wanted.” 

 

Arya’s the first to break the silence. “Sansa? What in the hells are you talking about?”

 

Sansa looks bewildered. “I - Margaery. I mean, that’s what this is about, right?”

 

Arya puts two and two together. “You - you and Margaery? You guys are - ”

 

“The pet names do make a lot more sense now,” Theon says thoughtfully.

 

“I’m still lost,” Robb says. “What’s going on?”

 

Sansa sighs. “Theon, you still drink gin and tonic, right?”

 

“Absolutely. Unlike Robb, I haven’t desensitized myself to the taste of the horse piss that is the beer he drinks.”

 

Sansa nods wearily. “I’ll take a glass. Or two.”

Theon grins. “Anything for my favourite in-law,” he says and ignores the offended looks Jon and Arya throw his away. “Oh, come on. You guys knew that.”

 

“You’re not supposed to have favourites,” Jon protests.

 

“Really?” Ygritte looks surprised. “I do.”

 

“Who’s yours?” Arya asks with interest.

 

“Rickon,” Ygritte replies promptly. “I once saw the kid try to fight his own reflection. I admire that in a person.”

 

Arya nods. “That’s fair.”

 

“I have a favourite too,” Gendry says, “it’s - ”

 

“Jon,” everyone interrupts, including Jon himself.

 

Gendry grins.

 

Theon reappears with Sansa’s drink, which she takes a generous swig of.

 

“Alright,” she says. “So, my final year in King’s Landing College. My summer had consisted of getting cheated on, becoming friends with the girl who Joffrey was cheating on me with, and enacting a revenge scheme.”

 

Arya sighs at the memory. “That was so fun.”

 

“And we kind of - ” Sansa waves her hands in the air. “You know. Hooked up a couple of times, Margaery and I. We didn’t make it official or anything because we knew she’d be jetting off to Essos immediately after graduation. And we lost touch, and I dated around, but never anything serious, I was so busy with work. And then when she moved back here, we got coffee a few times and one thing led to another and - ”

 

Jon grins. “Was it Margaery who encouraged you to tell Cersei to go fuck herself?”

 

“No,” Sansa replies. “That was all me.”

 

“Nice one,” Robb says.

 

“But Margaery always wanted me working with her,” Sansa says with a shrug. “So maybe it was the push I needed.” She grins into her drink. “And things are pretty serious now between us.”

 

“How serious?” Ygritte asks. 

 

Sansa blushes. “Well, we’re thinking about moving in together.”

 

Robb grins. “That’s fantastic news, Sansa.”

 

“Why didn’t you tell us?” Arya demands. “If things are as serious as this.”

 

Sansa sighs. “It wasn’t the kind of thing I wanted to get around,” she admits. “Sleeping with your boss isn’t always the best look.”

 

“Who gives a shit?” Arya asks. “Let people like Joffrey and Baelish talk. You have everyone in this room on your side. Mum, Dad, Bran, Rickon, all the kids and dogs. Even the future lizards Robb and Theon might be adopting”

 

Sansa smiles softly and finishes her drink. “I’m lucky like that,” she says and gives a yelp when she checks her watch. “I’m sure you lot were listening in on my conversation with Margaery, so you’ve probably figured I’m meeting her at eight. It’s date night,and I have to rush and get changed. Robb, what’s that argument? I’ll have to be quick about it.”

 

“Wha - oh. Well, I asked you it when you came in. Doesn’t everyone go through a gay phase in college. You just kind of got caught up in your own, uh, personal side of it.”

 

Sansa groans. “Are you kidding me? So I just divulged all that for nothing?”

 

“Not for nothing,” Arya argues. “We would have figured out sooner or later.”

 

Sansa groans. 

 

“Besides,” Ygritte says coyly. “I think we’ve figured out the argument. Some of the general population do. All the Starks do.” She shrugs. “It’s a Stark thing.”

 

“That has a ring to it,” Theon says.

 

“Oh yeah,” Arya calls over to Sansa as she’s readying herself to leave. “Ygritte's expecting again. Also We recently found out that Jon - ”

 

“ - was getting fucked by Ygritte and Tormund throughout his college years?” Sansa finishes flatly. "Congrats, by the way, Ygritte."

 

Arya wavers. “Yeah. That's exactly it.”

 

Jon looks aghast. “How did you know?”

 

“I stayed on your couch the night before my opening day, remember? You guys were kinda loud.”

 

Jon buries his head in his hands again, while Ygritte and Theon roar with laughter. Robb’s doing his best to look sympathetic, but can’t help his own laughter breaking out.

 

“This whole family is a mess,” Jon says. “An absolute mess.”

 

Beside Arya, Gendry sighs in content.

 

“What are you so happy about?” she demands, absently threading her fingers through his.

 

He smiles at her. “I’m just thinking about how I married into the best mess of my lifetime,” he tells her. 

 

She feels his smile widen as she leans over to kiss him.

**Author's Note:**

> if anyone's interested in a starks themed discord (with a side focus on the above ships) hmu cause i've been mulling the idea over in my head and i'd like to know if there's any interest


End file.
